End of the Year Wrap-Up

Power FM had a big year... we celebrated our 10th Anniversary of being on the air back in August. We had a great party, have had several other fabulous events and fun guests in through out the year. On a more personal level, several members of our staff had big years as well!

Three of our employees became engaged (uh... not to each other, of course)! Adrian asked Kayla to marry him and they plan to be wed in October of 2010 (plus he just graduated from UNT this semester!). Email asked his girlfriend, Alison, to be his bride. And Little Herbie popped the question and got a 'yes' from Skyler! Congratulations to our guys for landing the girls of their dreams!!! On a similar note, Drue and Eimi celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary in October!

Several of our promotions staff members went through job changes in 2009, and thankfully stayed on with us in the meantime. Bianca quit her full-time job to pay more attention to school and pursue some other passions including writing and photography! Leslie left a stressful position at a corporate office for a more ministry-minded organization. Wes was able to leave a job he did not enjoy so much for a job he is really loving! And he is helping to take care of his 5-year-old nephew on a full-time basis.

Rachel is excited that she's spent three full years working at Power FM and TBN/JCTV. She says, "Both jobs have provided me with incredible opportunities to meet and interview very talented people. The highlight of my year was interviewing the Newsboys at Celebrate Freedom because not only was it the freaking Newsboys, but the lead singer is now officially Tait of DC Talk fame, and seeing two greats 5 feet in front of me answering any question I asked was pretty stinkin' cool. Seeing MuteMath, Switchfoot, and Ferry Corsten all in concert again this year rounded it out, and I cannot wait for what 2010 has to offer! Maybe an engagement of my very own? !!! LOL."

Powertalk host, Rick Walker, is half way through law school!

We've done some rearranging at the front desk of our office this year. Tiffany and Flossie have moved on, and Elizabeth has moved in to answer your phone calls in the afternoons. She recently graduated from Baylor... go Bears!

And as for me (Jade), the latter half of 2009 was spent getting over morning (all-day!) sickness and watching my waistline expand. My second son is due to be born March 4th, 2010... so I definitely have that to look forward to this New Year!

We pray you all had a blessed Christmas and will have an extremely amazing New Year. Happy 2010!!!

Keep rockin' for Christ!
Jade =)

Collin Classic Ride '09

Saturday June 13 a few of us in the Power FM cycling group participated in the Collin Classic bicycle ride in McKinney and even fewer of us volunteered at break point #6, the Power FM rest stop. We were able to have the Power-mobile parked at our break point with speakers blaring the wonderful sounds of the station. It was a great way to advertise the station to a segment of people who want some music with a lot of energy. So a big thanks to Wes from our promotions department and the five individuals who sacrificed sleeping in on a Saturday morning to work the station rest stop and serve the riders. Those of us riding experienced more inquiries and shout outs because of our jerseys than ever. It makes sense, after all statistics show that our listenership has grown to over a hundred thousand. So thanks to efforts like the billboards, bumper stickers, power gear, and you verbally spreading the word of the station all equal to more listeners and more hearts touched for the Kingdom.

Keep rockin and more power to ya!
Eddie

Totally geeked out!

Drue and I were talking the other day about what makes us "geek out." Working in this business, we meet a lot of people - listeners, other radio peeps, bands, musicians, celebrities - and sometimes it can become somewhat... routine (as terrible as that sounds). But then, there are those times when we run across someone we have always loved/looked up to, or we find ourselves in funny situations that lead us to (as we call it) "geek out." Ok, it happens more often that we'd like to admit, but we discussed some of our favorite "geek out" moments, and asked the rest of the staff to chime in as well. Here are some of the responses to the question, "Who DID you geek out over or who WOULD you geek out over given the opportunity?" ...

Dawn said: I’ve actually shared this with some already, in connection with the movie, The Imposter... I find it funny that Chris and I have interviewed some really awesome people in the Christian Rock industry; from Brian “Head” Welch and Toby Mac to Michael Sweet and Oz Fox. And I was thrilled to meet authors Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker, whose books I devour. But the person that really made me “geek out” was Kerry Livgren, formerly of Kansas. “Dust in the Wind” and “Carry On Wayward Son” still take me back to bittersweet memories of riding down the road in my parents lemon-yellow Dodge Dart with the windows down… I got the chance to meet Kerry when he played the part of “Prof” in The Imposter. The director introduced us and I just stood there, grinning like a cat saying something brilliant like, “ Wow….wow; wow” Not one of my finer moments.

Adrian said: I geek out every time I walk into the studio and Drue Mitchell is on the microphone...one time I went to talk to him and nothing came out I just ended up drooling all over myself...hehe. umm, I am a big fan of the band MuteMath. I have seen them five times in concert and I still get all excited about seeing them perform. One time I drove to Austin with Email to go watch them perform at Stubb's. For the record, I am not fond of approaching bands after shows because I always feel like its forced conversation that 10 million other people have told them. To me that is weird and uncomfortable, I would much rather have an interview set up. So, despite that I decided because it was MuteMath I would force through the awkward conversation and go up after the show to ask for an autograph. After the show was over with I went up to the band, however I couldn't think of anything to say. It was pretty pathetic, I was thinking to myself I shouldn't be like this because I am in radio and radio people are not supposed to be nervous around bands. However that was not the case, all I did was stand there with a cd in one hand and a sharpie in the other. I ended up getting the autograph but there was definitely a long awkward pause's of silence.

David said: I geeked out when I met Jessy from Falling Up when we went to Nashville… it was pretty funny.

Wes said: I did when I met Demon Hunter. I met them last year at thier concert. I was very nervous and studdered a whole lot and when I took pics with them my face flushed cause I was so excited. Also, when I had met Marion Barber. I was at the gym getting water and he was standing there. So I said look that's Marion barber and he walked over to me and stuck out his hand to introduce himself. Instead saying hello the first words out of my mouth were "I Love You. " He laughed and I tried to explain how I meant it but he said " it's cool, I love it when fans tell me that." I kind of embarassed myslrf but hey I love the cowboys and I am willing to say that I'd probably tell every single person on the team the exact same thing.

Amanda said: Well...I've geeked out over Mac Powell to other people, but haven't had the chance to geek out to Mac Powell :) I've geeked out to the lead singer of Augustana (one of my favorite bands), Dan Layus, but I don't think very many people know who he is. It was a beautiful moment actually :)


I also asked some of our Twitter Friends to tell us who makes (or WOULD make) them "geek out." Here are a few of those comments...

- Sarah said: brad paisley
- Damaris said: Selena. But she is dead.
- Tammy Trent said: amy grant....still do! I'm a geek AND a nerd!! LOL
- Corinne said: When I met Jon Foreman last year he said "Thank you for coming" At a loss for words, I said "Thank you for being so awesome." Duh!
- Greg said: I would geek out if I got a guitar lesson with Brian Stezer; or if I was able to do a song with David Crowder.
- Aaron said: just had haste the day respond to a tweet.. that kinda made me geek out..
- Taco Boy said: LOL well ilia and I will really geek out if I her meet demon hunter and haste the day!
- Erick Newbil from FAIR said: star struck? when I met all the guys from Blur. Amazing.


I hope you enjoyed those stories as much as I did!
Keep rockin' for Christ!
Jade =)

Head Concert Recap

On May 19th I was able to attend a concert that I have been waiting for about 4 or 5 years to see. I have blogged about this artist a couple of times, and he has done a couple of interviews on Power Fm in the last couple of years. His name is Brian Head Welch, or Head as he goes by. He performed for the first time in Dallas since leaving the band Korn a few years ago when he became a Christian. I have talked in previous blogs that I was really into Korn when I was in highschool an then after I graduated as well. I became a christian in 2001 and shortly after that, before I found Power FM, I stopped listening to secular music because I was being influenced to much by the lyrics and message of that music, which means I stopped listening to Korn as well. Then I heard that Head had become a Christian and I was so stoked and from that day patientally waited for his music and a concert. I mean a guy that was in one of the biggest bands of the 90s, the time I was growing up, now was in love with Jesus and it would not be bad for me to like his music.

Finally last year his CD, Save me from myself, dropped and I was given the oppurtunity to meet him and talk to him. That made me even more eager for what took place at the Door.
He started out the show with Adonai, a song we play at night. As the show progresses he talked about his conversion and how he wanted to share Christ with others. The longer he played the more I started feeling the spirit going through the place.

He played the song, Save me from myself and after he was done, he asked anyone who needed a change who beeded escape from something to raise thier hands. Then he started praying, not just a regular prayer, a powerful one full of the Spirit, he said repeat after me. "Jesus Christ, I need change I need you in my life. Please come!" He was basically yelling this powerful prayer and asked people that needed change to repeat it. As this took place I almost started crying, especially as the audience was repeating the prayer. I was blown away.

His show was a metal praise service. I haven't felt the spirit that heavily at a metal show ever.
I suggest anyone who loves metal to get his CD and also read his book, both of which are named Save me from myself. Heck anyone who does really like metal should as well. Listen with spiritual ears and you will hear God.

That show was the best show I have seen in a year. I will definately be at the next show he plays in Dallas and I suggest anyone who wasn't there to check him out. You won't be disappointed if you open yourself to be spoken to by the Holy Spirit.

Thanks for reading.
Wes

Wes's previous Head blogs: here and here

Power FM in the news...

Last weekend Wes went out to Princeton High School for the Rockin' Winter Bash with WWC! and others. The Princeton Herald was also out there, and they published an article about the show. Here is part of that article...

Youth rock out at Christian concert
By Jennifer Fike, Staff Writer

Friday night Fellowship Worship Center teamed up wtih the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and PowerFM to present a rock concert at Princeton High School. The concert began at 7 p.m. and blasted through 11 p.m., offering students the chance to hear five bands and to spend time with their friends while learning about Christ.

The idea for the first-ever Rockin’ Winter Bash was Josh Brown’s. As a youth worker at Fellowship he wanted to do something that was going to be different and that would attract a lot of the young people in Princeton.

“We want to reach the community in untraditional ways,” Brown said, “this wasn’t about the bands as much as being an outlet for everyone to come together.”

As a guitarist for two of the bands that performed, the Jesus Lovin’ Hobos and WWC (Whatever We’re Called), Brown used his musical ties and enlisted the help of PowerFM and the Princeton High School and Clark Junior High’s FCAs to make the idea both a reality and a success.

More than three hundred people attended the concert that featured Christian rap and rock music, as well as a dance team.

“The concert was good for a small place like Princeton, I was impressed by the number of people that came out to the show,” Wes Rogers said, who works for Power FM’s promotion team. He said, “It seemed like everyone was pretty excited to see the bands that performed. The crowd was great, seemed like they all were big Christian Rock fans.”

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Thanks to the Princeton Herald for giving Power FM a shout out!

Brian Head Welch In Studio

Brian "Head" Welch was in studio with Drue yesterday for a great interview.

If you missed it, here's the audio:
Part one, click here.
Part two, click here.
Part three, click here.

He will be doing a CD & Book Signing tonite at Border's Book in Dallas, 7pm-10pm. Look for the Powermobile (with Leslie and Wes) to be out there!

Head is Coming!

Some of you may have heard of the band Korn… They are a secular band, whose music meant a lot to me, before I became a Christian, before finding Christ I was in a dark place and was able to identify with their lyrics. Long story short, I found Jesus and no longer need to identify with the stuff their lyrics spoke about and quit listening to their music, because I felt led to only listen to Christian music. Then, about a year or so after I got saved, I heard that Brian “Head” Welch, their lead guitarist and founding member of the band became a Christian. I WAS SO EXCITED BECAUSE I FELT THAT HEAD’S GUITAR PLAYING, was the reason I liked Korn’s sound. I said to myself, “ Man, I can’t wait till he releases a CD. A year or so after that I heard he was writing a book, you can find my review of the book here Save Me From Myself book review . In the book Head talks about writing music, and again I was excited with the prospect that head would be using his talent to write awesome guitar music to share things the Lord has done in his life. Shortly after reading the book I heard he was finally releasing his first single and then the full length album shortly after that. Well, the album, Save Me From Myself, dropped on 9/9/08, and all I can say is…..

The wait for this CD was well worth it! Head did not disappoint with this CD. I like EVERY SONG! My favorite songs are L.O.V.E and Adonai you can get the whole CD off of Itunes, or from his label itself Driven Music Store.

Also, Head is coming to Dallas on September 19, or a in-store book/CD signing at Borders Books in Dallas. You can find out more Info about that on Head's Myspace . Also, on September 18 Head will be doing another on-air interview with Drue. Keep listening for the exact time coming soon.

Wes

Manafest Show

August Events Pictures

August was a very busy month for us here at Power FM. The crew went out to a lot of events, and I'm just now getting to all the pictures! Oops. So, I've lumped them all together here in a fun slideshow. Enjoy!

The events:
08/09 - Tools For Schools - Ridgecrest Baptist in Greenville.
08/09 - CiCi's Pizza in Greenville
08/10 - Post-Game Concert - QuikTrip Park in Grand Prairie
08/16 - Back To School Party - Arlington SDA
08/17 - Concert & Cones - Kerr Beach in Denton
08/23 - Back to School Event - Christ Community, The Colony
08/25 - DBU Welcome Party - DBU in Dallas

Also, don't forget that THIS Saturday is the August Get-Together at Xdrenalin Zone and Mountasia in North Richland Hills. The staff will be out there from 5pm-8pm. Check out all the details, prices, etc. here.

Keep rockin' for Christ!
Jade =)